14 Coffee Co EQIP Executive Summary

The USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Coffee County, Alabama, will hold a sign-up for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for the 2014 fiscal year. This signup will be held on a continuous basis. Landowners/land users who have concerns relating to Soil Erosion/Soil Quality, Grazing Land, Water Quality/Animal Waste, Forestry Health and Wildlife may apply.

The USDA Work Group has identified the following resource concerns in Coffee County and all have equal priority:

Soil Erosion/Soil Quality

Grazing Lands

Water Quality/Animal Waste

Forest Health and Wildlife

County funds will be divided among the resource concerns as follows:

Soil Erosion/Soil Quality – 30%

Grazing Lands – 30%

Water Quality/Animal Waste – 20%

Forest Health and Wildlife – 20%

For all resource concerns, the Work Group has placed high priority on single practice applications, medium priority on two-practice applications, and low priority on applications for three or more practices.

Within the Forest Health and Wildlife resource concern, applications for prescribed burning will receive high priority, applications for chemical release will receive medium priority, and all others will receive low priority.

All applications in all resource concerns, taken by October 18, 2013, will be batched and ranked using the Statewide EQIP Ranking Tool. Approvals will be given to those applications that will provide the greatest environmental benefits, i.e., those receiving the most environmental points. Contracts will be developed for approved applications in order of descending environmental points until all funds are obligated. Any applications filed later than the scheduled batching date will be deferred and considered for approval in subsequent batching dates, if additional funding is received in fiscal year 2014.

Limited Resource Farmers, New and Beginning Farmers, and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers will be paid at an increased payment rate.

Eligible practices are listed below. Payment schedules for eligible practices will be the same as those identified in the Alabama State Practice Payment Schedule below.